


lover

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fights, Fire Lady Katara, Married Couple, Married Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Non-Graphic Smut, One Shot, Post-100 Year War (Avatar TV), Protective Zuko (Avatar), Short One Shot, Soft Zuko (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:48:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26799829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Katara and Zuko have an argument, Iroh eases Katara's worries, and they make up.~really just 1k words of just fluff bc i needed it lmao
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92





	lover

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to try on working on some longer things in the future but for now have this <33 i made in like an hour, pls forgive me it's a bit messy

“That won’t work, Katara,” Zuko sighed, trying and failing to keep his frustrations from showing. “Why not?” she groaned. “I can do it, Zuko! I can’t just spend my entire day in the palace every day, when I _know_ I can go out there and help our people!” She paced around the room, her eyebrows furrowed. She was too infuriated with her husband to notice that she’d called the people of the Fire Nation ‘our people’ for the first time. But Zuko did. For a while, she has only ever referred to the Fire Nation people as his people and hearing her say that for the first time made his heart speed up. He was still angry, but he wanted so badly to pause their conversation to kiss her. 

Not being able to help himself, his lips quirked up in a small smile. “You said our.”

“Huh?” Katara replied, confusion mixing with frustration. “Our people. You said our people, not just mine.” He was still smiling like an idiot, looking up at her from where he sat on his desk. “Oh. Right. Is that… okay? That I called them my people, too?” she asked. 

As if it was possible, Zuko’s smile grew even larger. “Of course. You’re the Fire Lady, Katara. The Fire Nation needs you just as much as they need me,” he said fondly. Katara smiled back. “Great! They you understand why I’m asking-- _begging_ you to _please_ let me help around the hospitals. I know I can do it, Zuko. I know you’re worried about me wandering around outside the palace, but I’ll have guards with me all the time. And even so, I’ve been Fire Lady for six months now and no one seems to have a problem with it. At least not enough of a problem to take it up with us.”

“Katara…” Zuko said slowly. “We’re never sure how safe it is out there for you. It’s _only_ been six months. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please, Katara.”

The disappointment on her face almost made him take all his words back and agree to give her everything she ever asked for. But still, he couldn’t bring himself to put her in any potential danger. She huffed, but didn’t say another word as she all but stomped out of his office. 

~

After leaving his office, she walked to the turtle-duck pond, hoping to clear her mind for a while. On the way there, she bumped into Iroh who was visiting from Ba Sing Se for a couple weeks. “Uncle Iroh!” she greeted, trying her best to mask the troubled look on her face. “Master Katara, how have you been?” Iroh smiled, giving the girl a hug. 

“I’ve been great, Uncle.” She started calling Iroh Uncle years ago, after he asked her and the rest of the group to do so. “Actually, do you have some time, Uncle? Zuko and I had a…fight,” she said unsure whether it was more appropriate to call it a fight or a disagreement. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“Of course, Katara. Come, let’s go to the tea room.”

They walked in a comfortable silence to the tea room. She knew, in some capacity, that her and Zuko would be okay and that this fight wouldn’t ruin their relationship; they loved each other far too much to let that happen. And yet, she was afraid. Even though she was almost sure they would be fine, she couldn’t help but think that maybe only she felt that way. What if Zuko didn’t? What if Zuko suddenly thought that being with her was too much work to keep up with? He was the Fire Lord, for Tui’s sake. He had too many responsibilities for one man and Katara was not an easy person to deal with. She worried that when she goes to talk to him again, he would decide that she wasn’t worth the trouble. 

And so she told Iroh everything. She knew that if there was one person in the world who could tell her what to do, it would be Iroh. However, when she finished speaking, Iroh replied with “Katara, I cannot tell you what to do.” 

“But I can tell you that Zuko giving up on your relationship, on _you_ is impossible. I have never known anyone who makes Zuko even half as happy as you do. He’s loved you for a long time, Katara,” he said fondly. “I can tell you this with absolute surety, he will never ever give up on you. If only you could hear the way he talks about you--I always knew my nephew could carry that much love in his heart. But I never thought he would ever show it to me. You’re his entire world, Katara. If you are worried about anything because of this fight, your relationship with him should be the last thing on your mind.”

~

Katara walked into her and Zuko’s room later than she planned. The moon was high and in the room, the lights were already closed. She could faintly see an outline of Zuko’s sleeping body on their bed. She quietly stalked over and laid down beside him. 

But Zuko wasn’t asleep yet, not completely anyway. He found it difficult to sleep without his wife beside her. So when he felt her lay beside him, he rolled onto his side and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her back was flush against his front when he kissed her shoulder. “‘M sorry for getting angry earlier. I couldn’t help but be worried about you. And I know you have no problem protecting yourself, but I guess I just want to protect you from needing to protect yourself.”

“It’s okay, Zuko. I understand,” she said, intertwining her fingers with his. “I’ve just been itching to do something to help. And I know that I can help best right now around the hospitals. I understand why you’re afraid though.”

“Mmm,” he murmured against her shoulder, “What if for the first couple months, you can visit once a week and maybe I can go with you? And then after that, if we know everything’s safe, you could go whenever you wish.” She turned around at that, facing her husband. She placed a hand on his scarred cheek, “That would be perfect, Zuko.”

“I’m sorry for making you feel like you need my permission to do something, and I’m sorry for being overbearingly protective,” he mumbles. “Just every time I’m not with you I keep imagining what would’ve happened if I wasn’t there when Azula--when she--” His voice cracked multiple times so he decided it better not to continue. He knew she understood what he meant. “I know, Zuko. I know,” she replied, still resting her hand on his cheek. “And I understand, but I promise you, I will be okay. We’ve been protecting each other for years and I wouldn’t change that for the world, but I have a chance at making a huge difference around here. And I don’t feel like I need your permission all the time; that’s not the kind of people we are. I just wouldn’t want to do something that affects you too without you being on-board with it.” 

He nodded, “I know, but still. I’m always worried about you but I’m more worried about you feeling suffocated with me. That’s never my intention. If I ever made you feel that way, I’m so so--”

“Stop it, Zuko. Don’t apologise for something hypothetical. You’ve never made me feel that way, not even close. I don’t think you’re even capable of doing that,” she said, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. 

He nodded again, but stayed quiet. “I love you, Zuko,” she whispered against his hair. They’d been together for years, but everytime she said those words to him, his heart still sped up like it was the first time she said it. He pressed chaste kisses along her neck, mumbling “I love you so much, Kat” between kisses. 

He kissed her neck multiple times, each time getting less chaste than the last. Soon, Katara was gripping his har, breathing like it was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. He was kissing her neck in a way he was sure that it would leave marks tomorrow. “Zuko,” she sighed. She rolled her hips on his crotch, making him groan loudly. “Kat--fuck,” he groaned. 

Zuko ran his hand down the side of her body, gripping her waist when he got to it. “Zuko,” she said again. She found it difficult to find any other words to say; her brain was completely clouded except for what she wanted Zuko to do to her. “Please,” she whimpered, moving her hips against him again.

They loved each other that night, holding on to each other so tightly as if they were afraid that the other would slip away if they didn’t. Breathless ‘I love you’s and quiet moans filled the otherwise silent room. When they finished for the second time that night, Katara collapsed beside Zuko. He grabbed her arm lightly and put it around his stomach. Katara huffed a laugh and cuddled further into him, knowing how much he loved being cuddled in his sleep. 

“I love you,” Zuko whispered one more time, determined to tell her every moment he could so that she would never forget.


End file.
